The invention relates to a connection for a grill panel of a motor vehicle, incorporating a pair of mountings for the grill panel.
Known grill portions of freight vehicles often have not only a grill panel with radiator grille but also further covering elements. The grill panel usually requires several connection points arranged for the purpose in the vehicle""s chassis so that the panel can be locked to and, when necessary, raised up from the vehicle""s front.
One object of the invention is to provide a grill panel which can be allowed to cover a major portion of the vehicle""s front and can at least partly be connected at pre-existing connection points on the vehicle.
The hinge brackets, which are already dimensioned for the relatively large loads arising from the side doors, enable stable connection of the grill panel, which may therefore be dimensioned to cover a major portion of the vehicle""s front and avoid the need for further covering elements or bodywork components. In particular, grill panel sides angled rearwards may extend all the way to the front edges of both side doors, where the common hinge connections may delineate the intermediate gaps with great dimensional accuracy.
In the preferred embodiment, each mounting is associated with a hinge element which is fastened to the vehicle. This simplifies assembly work in that hinges and panel mountings can be fitted in a single operation.
In the preferred embodiment, an upper pair of mountings are also pivot brackets which make it possible to pivot the grill panel upwards. A lower pair of mountings are positional retainers in the form of elongate hinge pins which determine the lateral position of the grill panel so that its sides adjoin the side doors in a planar manner.
Further mountings may optionally be arranged to lock the grill panel to the front of the vehicle.